An Accurate Direction Finding Scheme Using Virtual Antenna Array via Smartphones

With the development of localization technologies, researchers solve the indoor localization problems using diverse methods and equipment. Most localization techniques require either specialized devices or fingerprints, which are inconvenient for daily use. Therefore, we propose and implement an accurate, efficient and lightweight system for indoor direction finding using common smartphones and loudspeakers. Our method is derived from a key insight: By moving a smartphone in regular patterns, we can effectively emulate the sensitivity and functionality of a Uniform Antenna Array to estimate the angle of arrival of the target signal. Specifically, a user only needs to hold his smartphone still in front of him, and then rotate his body around [Formula: see text] duration with the smartphone at an approximate constant velocity. Then, our system can provide accurate directional guidance and lead the user to their destinations (normal loudspeakers we preset in the indoor environment transmitting high frequency acoustic signals) after a few measurements. Major challenges in implementing our system are not only imitating a virtual antenna array by ordinary smartphones but also overcoming the detection difficulties caused by the complex indoor environment. In addition, we leverage the gyroscope of the smartphone to reduce the impact of a user’s motion pattern change to the accuracy of our system. In order to get rid of the multipath effect, we leverage multiple signal classification to calculate the direction of the target signal, and then design and deploy our system in various indoor scenes. Extensive comparative experiments show that our system is reliable under various circumstances.